Die Brinlein die da fliessen

Ivo de Vento was a significant composer of the German Renaissance. This Lieder, Die Brinlein die da fliessen, is a four-part setting for SATB voices. The German text speaks of a lover's constancy, contrasting it with the hardship of having to avoid one's beloved. The composer vividly portrays the text's direct and somewhat playful instruction to a lover to signal their affection through glances and a foot-tap, before returning to the lament of enforced separation. It is a prime example of secular German part-music from this period, characteristic of the Lieder tradition, balancing textual expression with musical craft.